United States President Donald Trump says Washington is considering the normalisation of ties with Damascus after he met Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the first such encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years.
Trump made the announcement on Wednesday at a meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, during which he also said the US will drop “all sanctions” against Syria.
“With the support of the great leaders in this room, we are currently exploring normalising relations with Syria’s new government,” Trump said, confirming his brief meeting with al-Sharaa.
The “cessation of sanctions” will give Syria “a fresh start”, Trump said.
“We will be dropping all sanctions.”
The US president said he conferred with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday about the lifting of sanctions.
He said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Turkiye to further discuss US-Syria relations.
In a statement, the White House said that during the meeting, Trump asked al-Sharaa to deport Palestinians it described as “terrorists”, “sign onto the Abraham Accords with Israel” and “assume responsibility for ISIS detention centres in northeast Syria.”
On Tuesday night, Trump had announced he was lifting sanctions on the war-battered country, drawing a huge applause from Arab leaders and celebrations in the streets across Syria.
Trump’s announcement marks a major turn of events for a country still adjusting to life after more than 50 years of iron-gripped rule of the al-Assad family.
Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December after a lightning offensive by opposition fighters led by al-Sharaa’s forces.
Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Riyadh, described Trump’s announcement and his meeting with al-Sharaa as significant developments.
“This is a massive breakthrough, giving the new authorities in Syria more legitimacy internationally,” our correspondent said.
He said Trump’s decision would likely also pave the way for the GCC to commit more financial aid to the authorities in Syria, noting that US sanctions had previously held them back from investing.
Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, who is reporting from Damascus, said the meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa, which lasted for 33 minutes, was a major diplomatic breakthrough for Saudi Arabia.
“For the first time in 25 years, a Syrian president has met with an American president. That in itself is very historic.”
While ties between the US and Syria is at an “all-time high”, our correspondent said that it would be “very, very difficult” for Damascus to agree on Trump’s demand for Syria to sign on to the Abraham Accord with Israel.
After a short flight, Trump has now arrived in Qatar’s capital Doha, where he will participate in a state visit with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and other officials.
Qatar, a key US ally, is expected to announce hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in the US.
While the precise details of the investments Qatar plans to announce were unclear, Qatar Airways was expected to announce a deal to buy about 100 widebody jets from Boeing, according to the Reuters news agency.
Trump’s first two days of a four-day swing through the Gulf region have been marked by lavish ceremonies and business deals, including a $600bn commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the US and $142bn in US arms sales to the kingdom.
Following his visit to Qatar, Trump will fly to Abu Dhabi to meet the UAE leaders on Thursday.
